


The Perfect Present For You

by xSophie2x



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Gift Giving, M/M, Ridiculous Gifts, Ridiculous gift giving, Weird gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 20:14:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20711879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSophie2x/pseuds/xSophie2x
Summary: Liam comes home with a weird present for Theo, so Theo decides that they should take gift giving a little more seriously





	The Perfect Present For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [manonlemelon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/manonlemelon/gifts).

> For Manon, who wanted the prompt "Here. It reminded me of you."  
I hope you enjoy it! :)

# It was quiet in the living room when Theo sat down on the couch, a little bag of peanuts within reach, his gaze directed at the tv and a smile on his face at his little moment of peace, when a voice interrupted it.

‘Theo? I got you something.’

‘Hm?’ Theo looked up to where Liam was standing next to the couch, with expectant eyes, and held out a small wrapped gift to him. Theo bit his lip, feeling a smirk tugging at his lips at the thought of Liam getting him something and looked up, meeting Liam’s eyes amusedly. ‘Really? What is it?’

‘Eh, here,’ Liam started, holding out the gift to him, and fell down on the couch next to him when Theo took it, studying his boyfriend’s face in amusement. ‘Let’s find out by opening it.’

‘Okay…’ Theo laughed, straightening his back and turning down the volume of the tv a little, before pulling at the little bow around the box. Liam really had put some work into this, he thought with a grin, he had to give him that. And deep down, his heart warmed at the thought of Liam randomly thinking of him and getting him something.

‘So…’ he started with a smile, pulling the lid off of the box and taking a look inside. ‘What have we here…?’

Immediately, he paused, freezing as he saw what was inside of it. With a frown, he reached out and pulled out a mug with a picture of him and Liam on it with the words _Theo and Liam 4 Evah_ written in pink glitter ink around it.

With his eyebrows raised, Theo held up the mug for Liam to see, giving his boyfriend a pointed look. ‘Liam, what the hell?’

‘What… It’s customized!’ Liam protested, his head snapping up at Theo’s dry tone even if he wasn’t able to keep the grin off his face. ‘I thought it’d be funny!’

‘Okay,’ Theo started, a resolute tone sounding through his voice, as he put the mug down on the table and pushed it away a little, putting down the little box on the couch beside him. ‘That…’ he nodded to the mug on the table. ‘…Is probably just about the lamest thing you’ve ever done.’

He couldn’t deny that up until five minutes ago, his heart had been racing in his chest at the unexpected sweet surprise of Liam getting something for him without reason, just because he thought of him. He hoped the other boy wouldn’t be able to hear, as this was still all new to him and he had never really had anything like this, didn’t think he ever would. He had to get used to it. It wasn’t until he had reached into the box and pulled out the excessively decorated mug that that feeling had faded, and replaced with quite a different, sarcastic flutter in his stomach, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. Because of course Liam would get him something like this. It was just like him.

‘Hey!’ Liam exclaimed, giving his boyfriend a push against his shoulder until he fell back against the couch, a laugh spilling past his lips just as Theo did too, and they looked towards the over the top bright mug on the table that seemed to be staring back at them. ‘It was just meant to be fun. You love it, admit it!’ he said, turning to his boyfriend as a more serious expression settled on his face. ‘Anyway, as if you could do any better!’

Theo paused at that, raising his eyebrows and glancing up at his boyfriend beside him. ‘Really?’ he asked, a soft laugh slipping past his lips. ‘You think I wouldn’t be able to give you a good present, that’s better than that?’ He nodded towards the ridiculously decorated mug, still standing on the table.

Liam snorted, straightening his back. ‘Come on,’ he said, a grin forming on his face. ‘It’s harder than you think.’

‘Clearly,’ Theo smirked. ‘But I bet you I can find you something that’s better than that.’

Liam remained silent for a moment, considering Theo’s words in thought, until an idea popped into his head. ‘Okay,’ he said, crossing his arms and glancing at Theo with a smile. ‘Then I know something. We each get three days, and whoever can find the other the best present by then, wins.’

Immediately, a grin formed on Theo’s face and he nodded, meeting Liam’s eyes and holding out his hand. ‘Okay. It’s a bet. You’re on, Dunbar.’

Liam grinned, shaking Theo’s hand happily. ‘May the best man win.’ With that, he stood up, walking towards the door before turning around once more. ‘Which, by the way, is me,’ he laughed. Chuckling softly, he walked out of the room, and Theo watched as he left with a smirk on his face.

‘Based on _that_?’ he mumbled, picking up the mug from the table again and turning it over in his hands. ‘Yeah right. We shall see.’

*****

Truthfully, after looking around for the perfect present for Theo, Liam had to accept the fact that it was a much harder task than he would like to admit. He had searched around in bookstores to see if there was a book that Theo would like, or video games that would do well with him, and had looked in clothing stores for a new shirt that Theo might like before deciding that it was all too impersonal.

If he was going to win this, and give Theo the best present ever, it had to be more personal, something that Theo had always wanted, and so, Liam snuck into their bedroom when Theo was out for the day.

Ever since moving in together, they had made the obvious decision to sleep in one bedroom together, unlike when Theo had moved in with Liam and his parents and they’d separate bedrooms, but despite that Liam had never really looked closely at Theo’s stuff. It was always just there, just like his own stuff and he’d never paid particularly much attention to it. But he supposed now that Theo was out, and he had an important mission to be thinking about, it wouldn’t hurt to snoop around in his stuff a little in hopes of getting an idea.

With a grin on his face, he walked around the bed to Theo’s side, straightening his back and looking around to decide where he should start. There was a shelf against the wall above their bed, with a few pictures of Theo and a couple of their friends like Alec and Nolan on them on Theo’s side, but it was hard for Liam to not notice how much more stuff he had on his own side. Pictures, but also other things like a stray book, a candle, a few tiny stuffed animals that he still had from when he was younger that Theo liked to make fun of. Theo had always been a bit of a minimalist, never collecting a lot of stuff or being sentimental about it, but now, it left a stinging feeling in Liam’s chest. He knew that it was partly due to Theo simply not owning a lot of stuff as well, and he thought that it was clear that they had to do something about that.

But only once this mission was over.

With a sigh, Liam threw aside the bedcovers and pillows on Theo’s side, hoping to find something under it, and a disappointed breath escaped his lips as he saw that it was all clean.

Of course Theo kept his bed nice and made up, the guy always kept everything else neat and cleaned up as well. Liam would lie if he said that it was the one thing that annoyed him about Theo, as he was much more messy himself, and he felt like he couldn’t be anymore around Theo because of that.

He gave a short tug at the drawer in Theo’s bedside table, ripping it open, and was met with the sight of a couple folded letters in their envelopes, a phone charger, and the book that Theo always read before going to sleep. Liam sighed, reaching out and digging through the stuff that his boyfriend kept in there. But much as he expected, he didn’t find any well-kept secrets or other clues of Theo there either, and as he started to feel hopeless, he moved onto the space underneath the drawer which, aside from a few more books, was mostly empty as well.

A soft sigh escaped Liam’s lips, as he straightened his back and sunk down on Theo’s side of the bed.

He couldn’t stop the hopeless feeling from washing over him, as he fidgeted with his hands in his lap, and scratched his nails against the palms of his hands.

He was sure that Theo would have something for him already. And something real good too, that he wouldn’t be able to compete with. Sometimes he forgot how well Theo knew him. And how was he supposed to pick the perfect present for him from all the impersonal, generic shit that the shops offered that could be meant for everyone?

Liam knew that he had to win this, he wanted to so, so bad, and if he didn’t he’d probably never hear the end of it. But he also knew that it was more than that, and he just wanted to give Theo something nice that he would enjoy, because he deserved it.

And when Liam thought about it, Theo was probably right about the mug, because that weird thing really was ridiculous as Theo said.

With a soft sigh he stood up, a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought that he might lose this bet to Theo, and let his gaze wander through the room until it landed on the only place where he might still find some inspiration and hadn’t looked yet.

Determinedly, he walked towards the wardrobe on the side of the room, pausing in front of it, and only hesitated for a moment before pulling open the middle doors where he and Theo kept their jackets and coats on clothing hangers.

Liam grinned, pushing aside the coats before he started searching on top of the drawers that were under it, which was mostly filled with more of his stuff like slippers, and reached out to feel around a bit at the back of the closet.

Honestly, Liam wasn’t expecting to find anything there. But after fumbling around in the closet blindly for a bit, he stumbled upon something that felt a bit like a piece of paper, or a picture, and without hesitating he pulled it out.

When he saw what was on the picture, Liam’s jaw dropped, as it wasn’t anything of his, and what was on the picture spoke volumes. He knew that Theo had hid in there, and what was on the picture, that was what he wanted.

A grin formed on Liam’s face at the sight of it, studying the picture once more, because that was it. That was what could help him find the perfect present for Theo.

*****

Nervously, Liam stepped into the kitchen, and pulled the door closed behind him quietly, the wrapped present already under his arm.

Theo was sitting at the table in the living room, Liam could already hear that he was home from his heartbeat coming from the other room. He swallowed, letting out a shaky breath before making his way to the living room, hoping to God that Theo would like the present that he had bought for him.

Quietly, he stepped into the living room, closing the door to the kitchen behind him, and Theo looked up, shooting him a smirk. ‘Ah, Liam,’ he said, a wrapped gift on the table in front of him. ‘You’re back.’

‘Yeah, I am,’ Liam responded with his head held high, not letting Theo know much he hoped that he would like his gift, and how nervous that thought made him. As he tightened his grip on the plastic bag in his hand he walked around the table, sitting down at the table across from his boyfriend and meeting his eyes.

‘It’s been three days,’ Theo said, a smirk forming on his face as he watched as Liam placed the bag with the gift on the table in front of him and looked up again. ‘Who should go first?’

Liam chuckled, Theo’s attempts at appearing intimidating taking away some of his nerves, and he smiled as Theo started to laugh along with him. ‘You can,’ he said, swallowing, his heart pounding in his chest at the thought of Theo seeing what he got for him.

‘Okay,’ Theo smiled, pushing his gift across the table. ‘Here you go.’

Liam grinned, setting his own present aside for a moment as he tried not to look at it for a moment, taking in a breath. ‘Thank you.’

With a smile, he pulled the present closer, getting ready to tear off the wrapping paper. He couldn’t deny that now that he was so close, he couldn’t wait to find out what was inside, and tore away the paper impatiently. When he did, his jaw dropped, looking up at his boyfriend sitting across the table from him. ‘Theo…’ he started, quietly. ‘This is…’

Theo remained silent, giving Liam a soft smile as he unwrapped the present further. ‘Perfect?’ he asked softly, as Liam stared down at the brown leather watch lying in front of him.

‘Yeah…’ he started shakily, looking up at his boyfriend with tears pooling in his eyes. ‘Where did you find this!? I thought I’d lost it!’ he managed, as he picked up the watch that had once belonged to his father, and his mom had given to him after he died.

He never thought he’d see it again.

‘Well…’ Theo chuckled softly. ‘I think you know I’ve always been neater than you. Losing things isn’t hard to do when you’re as messy as you are.’

A soft laugh escaped Liam’s lips at that, which sounded slightly more like a sob to him, and he wiped at his eyes. ‘Wow, Theo, I…’ He looked up, a serious expression settling on his face as a sudden new found apprecation for how neat Theo was washed over him. ‘Thank you. Seriously.’

Theo shrugged, his cheeks tinted a little more pink than usual, and Liam chuckled. ‘Would you, eh, mind if…?’

‘No, come here,’ Theo sighed, the corner of his lips turned upwards slightly, as Liam held out his hand and he tied the watch around Liam’s wrist. ‘There you go.’

‘Thanks,’ Liam grinned, checking the watch with a warm feeling in his chest, before looking up and meeting Theo’s eyes again. His boyfriend was truly amazing. If you asked him, Liam didn’t think it was possible anymore to win the bet now.

‘So,’ Theo said then, crossing his arms and leaning back with a smirk on his face. ‘It’s your turn now. Wanna show me what you got?’

Liam blushed, his cheeks heating up and clearing his throat as he looked towards the present, his nervousness returning to him in full force. ‘Eh, yeah,’ he started, pulling the gift towards him and pushing it towards Theo.

Theo grinned, pulling it closer, and Liam watched in nervous silence as he got ready to unwrap it, his heart pounding in his chest. He bit his lip, sitting down on his hands before taking in a breath and stopping the other boy from unwrapping the gift so soon. ‘Eh, if you can just wait a moment, before you unwrap it…’ he started, looking up. ‘I just wanted to say that I found it really hard, finding something good for you. So I’ve looked around a bit for inspiration. And, eh… Here. It reminded me of you. I hope you like what’s in there.’

‘Okay,’ Theo nodded, giving him a short smile, before looking back down at the present and tearing away the wrapping paper.

Liam swallowed, watching in silence as he did so, and as Theo froze at the sight of the present underneath the paper. He looked up, taking a close look at his boyfriend and what he thought of it. ‘So… What do you think?’ he asked nervously, his voice coming out trembling.

Theo stayed still for a moment before looking up, a frown visible on his face. ‘Liam…’ he started. ‘Did you go through my things?’

Liam coughed, his cheeks heating up as Theo stayed silent, waiting for an answer. ‘Eh, yeah,’ he started. ‘I did. And I’m sorry. But otherwise I never would have found that picture of you as a kid with the exact same remote-controlled car as that one.’

Theo stayed silent, staring down at the present before him, and carefully taking the package with the car out of the paper. Liam swallowed, watching his boyfriend to try and guess his mood. ‘Are you… Mad? Because if you are, I can still take that back and return it. I still have the receipt, and I’m sorry…’

‘Liam!’ Theo exclaimed, interrupting his rambling exasperatedly. ‘I’m not mad, okay!? I…’ He sighed, ‘I love it,’ he continued, much more quietly than before.

Liam looked up, his heart skipping a beat, and a smile tugging at the corners of his lips at the comment. ‘What… Really?’ he asked, a wave of relief washing over him.

Theo smiled. ‘Yeah, really. I’ve had this exact same one when I was younger, but I lost it when… Well, you know.’

Liam nodded; he knew, as he thought about Theo’s childhood not being spent the way he should have. ‘So… You’re gonna keep it?’ he asked.

Theo laughed. ‘Hell yeah!’ he grinned. ‘This is perfect. In fact: I’m just gonna try it out now!’

A wave of relief washed over Liam, a grin forming on his face as he saw how happy Theo was with it, and with a smile he stood up, walking around the table.

‘You really like it?’ Liam asked, and Theo nodded. ‘I do,’ he said, before leaning forward and pressing a kiss against Liam’s lips. ‘You’re not such a terrible gift giver after all. Come on, let’s try this thing outside.’

Liam snorted, giving his boyfriend a push against his shoulder before standing up, and following him outside. ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘I really am sorry about snooping through your stuff.’

Theo chuckled. ‘It’s okay, you’re forgiven,’ he said, pushing open the kitchen door and placing the small car on the ground of the backyard. ‘Sometimes it’s necessary.’

Liam grinned, watching as Theo started to steer the car around with the remote he had in his hands. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Yeah, I guess sometimes. Hey, can I have a go later?’

Theo looked up, shooting him a soft smile. ‘Sure,’ he said, ‘But only if I can go first.’ ‘Pff,’ Liam snorted. ‘Obviously.’

Theo grinned at him, making something flutter in Liam’s stomach, and a smile grew on his face as he watched the little car go around and around in circles in their garden, over and over again.

*****

‘Hey, which one of us did actually win the bet?’ Liam asked later, as they were sitting at the living room table with cups of tea in front of them.

Theo looked up, shrugging as he warmed his hands at his cup of tea. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I guess we both won. We both said our presents were perfect.’

Liam smiled, a warm feeling settling in his chest. ‘Guess I’m a better gift giver than you said I was. What prize do we get now?’

‘Okay, in my defense, I did actually say you were a good gift giver,’ Theo started, grinning. ‘And I don’t think we need a prize, I think the gifts we got from each other are enough of a prize.’

Liam’s cheeks heated up, as he thought that they also didn’t need prizes because they were here together, and happy, and that was kind of a prize too. He smiled, looking over at Theo. ‘I do love you, you know that?’

‘I know,’ Theo replied, pausing for a moment before looking down. ‘And I love you too.’

Liam grinned, his heart beating fast in his chest, and he watched as Theo took another sip of tea before he said: ‘You know, I think I should give you ridiculous gifts more often, if it means we can make more bets like this.’

Theo snorted. ‘Begging for gifts doesn’t make you look good, trust me.’

‘I could!’ Liam laughed. ‘Like I said, you love it!’

Theo grinned, shaking his head. ‘Yeah sure, Dunbar,’ he chuckled, as he took his last sip of tea out his new mug with the picture of him and Liam on it, and the pink glittery letters that said _Theo and Liam 4 Evah_ shining in the sunlight that came through the living room window.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! Comments make my day! :)


End file.
